Jio Financial Services Ltd (JFSL) on June 19, 2025, announced it has acquired the entire 17.8% stake held by the State Bank of India (SBI) in Jio Payments Bank, making the digital bank a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. The deal, worth ₹104.54 crore, was approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) earlier this month. The announcement coincided with a 1% dip in JFSL’s share price, even as the company continues to expand its fintech footprint, including a major collaboration with BlackRock in asset management.

Why in News?

The acquisition is significant as it marks a major corporate restructuring move by JFSL: Jio Payments Bank is now fully integrated under Reliance’s financial umbrella. The announcement came days after Jio BlackRock Mutual Fund launched Aladdin, a global risk-management platform in India. JFSL continues to deepen its digital financial services portfolio, signaling aggressive growth in India’s fintech and mutual fund sectors.

Transaction Highlights

JFSL acquired SBI’s 17.8% stake in Jio Payments Bank for ₹104.54 crore.

The acquisition involved 7.9 crore equity shares.

With this, JFSL now owns 100% of Jio Payments Bank.

RBI granted approval on June 4, 2025 for the transaction.

Background

Jio Payments Bank, a digital payments entity, was initially a joint venture between JFSL (82.17%) and SBI (17.8%).

This move is seen as part of Reliance’s broader strategy to gain full control over its fintech operations.

Impact on Market

Following the announcement, JFSL stock slipped 1.54%, trading at ₹285.15 on the NSE.

Investors may have reacted cautiously to the investment move amid uncertain short-term gains.

Broader Fintech Developments

On June 16, Jio BlackRock Mutual Fund launched Aladdin, an advanced analytics and risk management platform developed by BlackRock.

Jio BlackRock is a 50:50 joint venture between JFSL and BlackRock.

Aladdin’s introduction represents the first time the platform is being made available in India.

Strategic Implications

Jio Financial Services (JFSL) has acquired the entire 17.8% stake held by the State Bank of India in Jio Payments Bank.

This makes the digital bank a wholly-owned subsidiary of JFSL.

Initially, Jio Payments Bank was a joint venture between JFSL, which held 82.17%, and SBI.

The deal, valued at Rs1.04bn ($12.05m), received approval from the Reserve Bank of India earlier this month.

The acquisition was announced in March, when it was said that it involves a total of 7,90,80,000 equity shares.

This acquisition marks a major corporate restructuring for JFSL, as Jio Payments Bank is now fully integrated under Reliance’s financial umbrella.

The move is seen as part of Reliance’s broader strategy to gain complete control over its fintech operations.

Days before this announcement, Jio BlackRock Mutual Fund launched Aladdin, a global risk-management platform in India.

This platform is part of a 50:50 joint venture between JFSL and BlackRock.

Full ownership of Jio Payments Bank provides JFSL with greater autonomy in integrating digital banking with other financial services.

The synergy between Jio Payments Bank and Jio BlackRock Mutual Fund could foster a unified digital finance ecosystem.

This strategic alignment supports Jio’s digital-first, data-driven approach, leveraging BlackRock’s investment expertise.

The introduction of Aladdin represents the first time this advanced analytics and risk management platform is being made available in India.

Meanwhile, in October 2024, JFSL announced that the upgraded version of the JioFinance App is available on the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and MyJio.

“Jio Financial takes full ownership of Jio Payments Bank” was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.